Patricio Pitbull won’t be competing next week.
The PFL announced Saturday that the Bellator legend has been removed from the card following the withdrawal of opponent Jesus Pinedo from their featherweight bout scheduled for the PFL vs. Bellator event on Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A reason for Pinedo’s withdrawal was not disclosed.
Pitbull is the reigning Bellator featherweight champion, while Pinedo would have entered the contest coming off of a thrilling 2023 campaign that saw him win a PFL featherweight tournament.
It is not yet known if the bout will be rescheduled for another date or if new opponents will be sought for Pitbull and Pinedo.
Pitbull now has to wait to snap the first losing streak of his illustrious career. In his past two outings, Pitbull fell short in his attempt to become a three-division champion when he lost a decision to Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis, and then he suffered a shocking knockout loss to RIZIN’s Chihiro Suzuki in a catchweight bout that was a late addition to that July 2023 event.
The PFL also announced that a lightweight bout between boxing superstar Claressa Shields and Kelsey DeSantis now takes place at 165 pounds.
